veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

ALIBOBSY

shelvis wrote: »

We went down to the 20% day at B&Q as well yesterday and bought £50 worth of the purple compost so it only cost £40. My plan today was to fill the raised beds with it but stupid rain has put paid to that.............

Speaking of which - is it OK to fill them completely with compost?? Do I need to put owt else in?

When we did our beds and read up on the general advice, it was not to go with all compost. We used a mixture of compost, topsoil, and soil improver (as sold by our local council-somewhere between a soil and a compost). The idea is to get a better structure in the beds.
Second year for us in the beds and the soil/compost levels have fallen so will be topping up. Got some homemade compost and some old grow bags from last year (but noted what was grown in which bag to avoid the desease spreading thing).

ali x

red-boxer

I repotted on my pea seedlings yesterday into a large pot, can these now be left outside at night, or do they still need protecting......i left them out last night but covered them with fleece. i would hate to lose them as they seem to be growing really well

lynzpower

red-boxer wrote: »

I repotted on my pea seedlings yesterday into a large pot, can these now be left outside at night, or do they still need protecting......i left them out last night but covered them with fleece. i would hate to lose them as they seem to be growing really well

Im keeping mine in, although I do have space. Im putting mine under a layer of fleece at night along with everything else. Mainly as I dont want to lose mine to birds - there is a LOAD of pidgeons living in a disused air con bunker on the roof, I swear there are a 100 birds there :eek::eek:

When they are bigger Im going to put nets around to make sure they cant get in :cool:

annie123

lynzpower wrote: »

Has anyone got any tips as to how to get holes in plastic without shattering?

A few ideas:

• Don't drill very cold plastic, depending on the type it will shatter, bring indoors to warm up.
• Did you use a wood drill bit? Hubby said use a glass or metal drill bit and go slowly
• put masking tape over the hole area to be, on the side that the drill bit will emerge from

HTH

misskool

red-boxer wrote: »

I repotted on my pea seedlings yesterday into a large pot, can these now be left outside at night, or do they still need protecting......i left them out last night but covered them with fleece. i would hate to lose them as they seem to be growing really well

If you've been growing them indoors, they need to be hardened off, to acclimatise them to the outside world. Put them outside during the day for about a week during the day then stand them out at night. peas are really hardy.

Peas don't like their roots being disturbed and should be grown in their final planting position. I start mine in root trainers or newspaper pots.

misskool

shelvis wrote: »

Bought some of those plug-u-gro strawberrys too and have potted them on into large peat pots. Once the last of the frosts has gone (which I *think* have done) I am going to put them into hanging baskets.

Strawberries need a frost to fruit, you can start acclimatising them to the outside world and then sending them out.

Strawberries are really hardy, mine have been outside all winter and there are green bits growing up.

[Deleted User]

OOH excellent I might just pot em out then tomorrow!!

Thanks

gillian62

I filled in some missing panes in green house last year with bubble wrap, and sealed with brown parcel tape - not pretty but worked well. Have replaced some this year that became brittle and ripped over winter but did the job.

Plasticman

MORPH3US wrote: »

2 questions for anyone...

1. Is it ok to use seeds taken from the fruits purchased in the supermarket... i.e. buy some tomatoes I like in Tesco, take some seeds out and plant them?

2. I understand that I shouldn't really use compost that I grew my tomatoes in again this year because of blight (?) so what should I do with it...??

1. No reason why you shouldn't as far as I know - but don't expect them to be the same as the ones in the shop:

Preserve seed only from nonhybrid (open-pollinated) tomatoes. They produce offspring just like themselves, with only slight variations. On the other hand, hybrid tomatoes, which include most modern varieties, produce offspring that won't necessarily look or taste the same as the parents.

Some info on how to do it here: http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/how-to-save-tomato-seeds-for-planting-another-year/


2. Two choices - either take it to the tip or use it for something else! I mix mine in with fresh compost and re-use most of it. The compost used for my tomatoes last year will be home to my carrots this year. Don't forget that some plants are from the same family (e.g. Potatoes and tomatoes) so don't swap between them.

elfen

Ok, I am brand new to this! I got a load of seeds from Poundland, and we have decided to grow carrots, peas, maybe beans and lettuce, and to have a thing full of herbs as we use a lot when cooking.

What's the best way to start them off? Do I need to keep them inside or can I put them in the covered area of the garden (has a roof and is on concrete, so well protected)